Valve mechanism for soot blowers



Feb. 19, 1952 DE LOS E. HIBNER 8 VALVE MECHANISM FOR SOOT BLOWERS FiledAug. 31, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet I 1 112L115 E.HIE1NER BY flaw ATTORNEY.

INVENTOR.

Feb. 19, 1952 DE LOS E. HIBNER VALVE MECHANISM FOR SOOT BLOWERS 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 51, 1948 ATTORN EY- Feb. 19, 1952 DE LOS E.HIBNER VALVE MECHANISM FOR SOOT BLOWERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 31.1948 INVENTOR. DELELE HIBNER ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 19, 1952 1 VALVE MECHANISM FOR soo'r BLOWEKS De Los E.Hibner, Du Bois, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to ContinentalFoundry & Machine Company, East Chicago, Ind., a corporation of Delaware1 Apparel; August 31, 1948, Serial No. 46,990

1 Claim. (o1. +31s) The present invention relates to valve mechanism forsoot blowers, especially soot blowers of the type wherein steam isadmitted through a valve to an elongated tubular blowing element havingradial or otherwise suitably arranged noz zles, the blowing elementbeing rotated during the operation of the blower, so that the jets ofsteam-ejected through the nozzles sweep the tube bank of the boiler towhich the blower is attached. In the sootblower in which the presentvalve mechanism is incorporated the tubular blowing element is rotatedthrough gearing from a manually operable shaft, and it is proposed,according to the invention, to provide automatic means actuated throughthe rotation of the shaft to open and close the steam supply valve intimed relation to the rotation of the tubular blower element. Y

It is an object of the invention to provide a soot blower in which allof the valve mechanism is on the side of the valve opposite to theboiler gases, thus, when the valve is closed, the packing, slidingjoints and all of the important parts of themechanism are sealedofi fromthe boiler gases. In other designs heretofore known the arrangement ofthe valve mechanism is such that the boiler gases, as well as thecondensate from the steam can collect around the valve mechanism,tending to deterioration of such mechanism as well as interference withits normal operation.

Another object is to provide a valve mechanism in which the workingparts are efiectively protected against the entrance of dirt, soot, orthe like, particularly during the off periods when the blower is not inoperation.

A further object is to provide a valve mechanism consisting in part of ascrew operated traveling nut carrying cam means for effecting openingand closing of the valve and further to provide such cam means having apositive action to both open and close the valve, thus eliminating thespring usually provided for closing the valve and making for easieroperation, because only the steam load need be overcome in opening thevalve instead of the combined steam load and spring load as is the casewhen a spring is employed. The positive double-action cam "also makes itpossible to apply a cam-imposed closing force to the valve which may becontrolled to any degree desired.

A further object is' to provide a valve mechanism having adjustmentmeans between the valve and the cam to enable the travel of the valve tobe'controlled, as desired, without requiring any change in the operatingcam. Another object is to provide a cam assembly which enables theplacing of the outlet nozzles of the tubular blower element at a desiredstarting position, while maintaining a given operative relation betweenthe cam and the valve.

A further object is to provide a valve mechanism in which the travelingnut and its operating screw may be readily disassembled for the purposeof repairing or replacement. It is' further proposed to provide readilyinterchangeable cam elements having various desired characteristics.Another object is to provide an improved packing gland for the valvestem which enables convenient removal of the valve stem by removal ofthe gland. It is further proposed to provide such packing gland havingcommunication with the downstream pressure in the valve, wherebythe'pressure on the packing between it and the outside is limited to thepressure on the downstream side of the valve seat, this downstreampressure being'substantially less than the upstream pressure on thevalve seat.

[With the above and other objects in view, an embodiment of theinvention is shown in the accompanying drawings, and this embodimentwill be hereinafter more fully described with reference thereto, and theinvention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a soot blower valve headprovided with valve mechanism, accordingv to the illustrated exemplaryembodiment of the invention, the dot-and-dash lines showing" oneoperative position of the traveling nut with they sponding partsthroughout the several figures of in which the steam supply line isadaptedtov be welded or otherwise suitably secured in place, the steamchamber being connected at its upper end to a head portion 13 having ahorizontal passage in communication with the chamber II. This passageincludes a valve chamber [4, a valve seatv l5, a Venturi nozzle portionl6, and a bearing portion l! in which the end of themtatable tubularblower element is engaged, as will presently more fully appear. Thebearing portion is provided internally with a shouldered recess I8 forreceiving a packing gland.

Upon the forward end of the head portion l3 there is provided a flange[9 upon which there is supported, by means of bolts and sleeves 2| abearing plate 22, provided with a circular socket 23 in which is engagedthe outer element of an anti-friction bearing unit 24, its-inner elementbeing mounted upon the tubular extension member 25 of the blowerelement. The tubular extension member 25 has one end portion rotatablyengaged-with the bearing portion I! of the head portion 13 where it issurrounded b suitable packing 26 retained'and compressed in the recess[8 by a flanged gland collar 27, adjustably connected to the flange [9by bolts 28.

p A large gear 29 is secured by welding, as at 30, to the tubularextension member 25, this gear having secured to it by means of bolts 3!a flanged hub 32 mounted upon the end of the tubular member 25 andhaving screwed in it the end of the elongated tubular blower member 33,the latter extending into the boiler and being provided with nozzleoutlets (not shown) for directing steam to the tube bank and otherstructure of the boiler to be cleaned of soot or the like. In a bearingsleeve 34 in the upper part of the bearing plate 22 there is journaledthe forwardend of the operating shaft 35, its rearward end beingrotatably supported in an antifriction radial and thrust bearing unit36, having its inner ring portion engaged upon a reduced end portion31'of the shaft againsta shoulder 38, and retained by means of aremovable lock ring 39 set in an annular groove 48 in the shaft. Theother ring member of the bearing is supported in a circularring portion4! of a bracket 42 secured upon a flat platform portion 43 of the valvebody II] by means of bolts 44. The bearing 36 is'removable from the ringportion 4l fitting against a shoulder 45 at one end and being retainedby a removablejlock ring 46 engaged in an annular recess of the'ringportion 4|. I

A pinion gear48 is removably secured upon the forward end of the shaft35 by means of removable pins 49, and meshes with the large gear 29,

the shaft being provided upon its rearward end with a sheave wheel 50over which an operating chain 5| is engaged. Manual rotation of thesheave wheel through pulling the chain 5| in one or the other directionsis adapted through the pinion gear 48 to rotate the gear 29 and thetubular blowing element connected thereto.v A guard 52 secured upon thebearing plate 22 encloses and protects the gears.

Within the valve chamber I4 there are engaged a series of packing rings53, the innermost ring engaging against 'a stop ring 54 abutting anannular shoulder 55 at the inner end of the valve chamber. The packingrings are retained and compressed by a gland collar 56 slideably engagedin the outer end of the chamberv I4 and held-in place by a cross-head 51engaged upon bolts 58 secured to the end of the body member ID, andadapted to be tightened to compress the packing rings by means of nuts59 engaged upon the bolts.

The packing rings provided a circular passage 60 in which the valve stem6| is slidably engaged, the valve stem being provided at its inner endwith a flanged valve closure head 62 which seats upon the valve seat 50in the closed position of the valve, the rearward flanged surface of thevalve head being normally acted upon by the steam in the steam valve I lto assist in maintain- 7 ing the closed position of the valve.

One of the packing rings at a point intermediate theseries of rings isof so-called lantern type, that is, it is provided with an internalannular groove 63 and an external annular groove 64 connected to theinternal groove by a series of radial ports 65. A duct 66 is provided inthe head portion l3 of the valve body In and extends from the externalgroove 64 to a point in the steam passage approximately at the inner endof the Venturi'riozzle l6.

The gland 56 loosely engages the head 51 so that it is completelyfloating, thus eliminating any danger of binding should the nuts 59 betightened ununiforml'y. As the packing bland itself forms an enclosureand a packing for the valve stem, the valve stem may be readilydisassembled'by simply removing the packing gland.

The lantern gland has the advantageous feature of limiting the pressureon the packing between it and the outside to that on the downstream sideof the valve seat. This downstream pressure usually does not exceed 350.P. S. I. G. (lbs. per square inch gauge) whereas the upstream'pressuremay be as high as 2500 P. S. I. G. Furthermore, since the discharge fromthe lantern gland is at the venturiat the outlet from the valve thepressure at this point, in many cases, is considerably less than theactual pressure on the downstream side of the valve taken at a pointfarther along the steam travel. It is also pointed out that the venturiIS on the downstream side of the valve not only' assists in cutting downthe pressure on the packing gland surrounding the valve stem, but alsoit materially reduces the pressure'on the packing 26 around theextension member 25 on the downstream side of the valve.

The valve stem '61 projects rearwardly from the gland collar 56 where itis provided upon its screw' threaded outer end with an adjustable nut61, of rectangular cross s'e'ction, having trunnion bearing-studs 68 ateach side engaged by the forked end 69 of the downwardly extending arms10 of 'a pair of control levers, each indicated as 1 I The valve stem 6!is provided at its outer end with a squared wrench engaging portion 88'for turning it relatively to the nut 61 to adjust the valve, a lock-nut89 engaging against the nut 61 tofix the stem against turning. Theselevers are respectively pivotally mounted by'means of studs 12 uponbracket portions 13 integrally formed upon the bracket 42, the leversextendingforwardly at the respective sides'of the shaft 35, and beingprovided at the inner sides of their forward ends with rollers 14mountedupon studs l5, these rollers adapted to engage thetraveling cammembers, as will presently more fully appear. 7

Upon the shaft 35 at a point substantially midway between the'bearing 34and the bearing 36 there is provided a helical screw thread 16 engagedby the threaded bore 1'! of a traveling nut 18. This nut is in the formof a block having flat parallel sides to which a pair of'cam plates 1919 are secured by means of bolts engaged through shouldered passages 81in one of the cam plates, passages 82 through the nut, and a threadedpocket 83 in the other cam plate. Each of the cam plates is providedwith a cam groove 84 engaged by one of the roliers M of the controllevers H, these cam grooves being designed to swing the lever inclockwise direction to open the valve at an intermediate point in thetravel of the nut, as shown by the dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 2. Ineither of the extreme positions of the nut, as shown respectively by thefull lines and dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 1, the valve is closed throughthe positive action of the inclined surfaces of the cam. The upper endsof the cam grooves are closed by cover plates 85-85 secured to the nutby screws 86, and which protect the cam slots from the entrance of dirtand soot. Limit stops may if desired be provided upon the shaft 35 inthe form of removable collars or the like, if desired. An oil fitting 81is provided on the nut for lubrication of the interengaging threads.

The end or starting position of the nozzles carried upon the blowermember 33 is obtained by removing the two control levers H and allowingthe nut to rotate freely with the screw shaft while the nozzles arerotated through the pinion 93 and gear 29 to the proper startingposition. The nut then can be screwed into either one of the endpositions desired to synchronize with the starting position of thenozzles, the control levers then being reinstalled with their rollers inengagement with the cam grooves at each side of the nut. The length ofthe sweep of the nozzles is determined by the cam shape, and this sweepcan be readily changed by merely replacing the cam plates with camplates of different shape, so as to give the proper valve opening inrelation to the nut travel and the desired sweep of the nozzles. Analternative form of the cam plate is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, thisbeing the cam plate for engagement with the right-hand side of the nut.As the cam plates are separately formed from the nut, they can beconstructed of any suitable hard material, while the nut itself can beof bronze or other suitable material to give running properties with thescrew thread.

The bearing ring 4! is of such size as to permit passage therethrough ofthe screw thread 16 of the shaft upon removal therefrom of the bearingunit 36, the bearing unit being readily disengageable from the bearingring upon removal of the lock ring 46. Thus, in order to remove theshaft it is only necessary to first remove the pinion 48 by removal ofthe pins 49, and thereupon turn the shaft to disengage the screw threadsfrom the nut, thereupon drawing the shaft through the bearing ring 4|.

The screw thread 16 of the shaft is so positioned that it at no timecomes outside of the traveling nut, and thus it is never exposed todirt. It will be understood, however, that the screw thread can, ifdesired, be made the entire length of the shaft between its bearings 34and 36.

I have illustrated and described a preferred and satisfactory embodimentof the invention, but it will be understood that changes may be madetherein, within the spirit and scope thereof, as defined in the appendedclaim.

What is claimed is:

In a soot blower, a valve body including a valve opening for admittingcleaning fluid to a movable blowing element, a movable valve for openingand closing said Valve opening, a movable blowing element incommunication with said valve opening, a rotatable shaft, drive meansbetween said shaft and said movable blowing element for moving thelatter, lever means connected to said valve for imparting opening andclosing movement thereto, a screw carried by said shaft, a traveling nutengaged with said screw adapted to have rectilinear movement throughrotation of said shaft, and cam means carried by said nut having a camgroove engaged by said lever means for imparting valve opening andclosing movement thereto, said groove including end portions for closingsaid valve in the respective end positions of movement of said nut andan intermediate portion for opening said valve.

DE LOS E. HIBNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

